Instagram extends self-harm ban to drawings and cartoons

Social media company Instagram has said it will remove images, drawings and memes showing methods of self-harm or suicide from its platform.

The move follows the death of British 14-year-old Molly Russell who killed herself in 2017 after viewing graphic content on the platform.

Her father Ian said he believed Instagram was partly responsible for her death.

The Facebook-owned app’s latest promise covers explicit drawings, cartoons and memes about suicide, along with any other method “promoting” self-harm.

In a previous move last February, Instagram banned “graphic images of self-harm” and restricted those with suicidal themes, including both pictures and videos.

Instagram says it has doubled the amount of material removed related to self-harm and suicide since the start of this year.

Between April and June 2019, it said it had removed 834,000 pieces of content, 77% of which had not been reported by users.

Via ITV News